Federal judge orders reinstatement of professor fired over Charlie Kirk post
A federal judge has temporarily reinstated Michael Hook, a tenured University of South Dakota fine‑arts professor whose termination was recommended by the state board of regents after he posted on private Facebook that he didn’t care about Charlie Kirk and called him a 'hate‑spreading Nazi.' The ruling, reported this week, is part of a broader wave of legal challenges by educators and public employees who say firings or suspensions over social‑media reactions to Kirk’s assassination violate their First Amendment rights.
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Professor fighting dismissal for calling Charlie Kirk a 'Nazi' handed legal win, fueling free speech debate
New information:
- A federal judge ordered the University of South Dakota to temporarily reinstate tenured professor Michael Hook (order reported 'on Wednesday').
- Hook had posted on his private Facebook that he didn’t give a 'flying f---' about Charlie Kirk and called him a 'hate‑spreading Nazi'; he deleted the post three hours later.
- The board of regents recommended Hook’s termination; similar lawsuits from other educators (e.g., Matthew Kargol in Iowa) are ongoing, and civil‑liberties groups such as FIRE have weighed in on First Amendment protections.